1. Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a linear motion device that allows a slider to be movable in a beam extension direction and an electronic component mounting apparatus that is provided with the linear motion device.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of electronic component mounting, there is an electronic component mounting apparatus that mounts a component on a substrate by using a mounting head which is movable in a horizontal direction by a linear motion device. A linear motion device configured to include a metallic (for example, iron or aluminum) beam that extends in one horizontal direction and move the mounting head along the beam by driving a movement mechanism such as a linear motor and a feed screw mechanism is used as the linear motion device.
In recent years, a faster mounting head movement and a higher level of mounting head positioning accuracy have been required for the purpose of productivity and mounting quality improvement. Beam rigidity enhancement and beam weight reduction have been in progress in order to meet these demands. As an example thereof, a beam configured to be molded into a tubular shape and formed of carbon fiber reinforce plastic (CFRP) has been proposed (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2 below). The CFRP is a composite material that is obtained by impregnating a carbon fiber with a polymer material such as an epoxy resin and then performing curing and molding thereon. The CFRP has a high level of strength and has a much lower level of specific gravity in comparison to a metal such as iron and aluminum, and thus is appropriate as a beam material.
Patent Document 1 is JP-A-2008-108949, and Patent Document 2 is JP-A-2013-206934.